Earlier this month, I asked a crowd in Manhattan one of New York City's most classic questions.
How much do you pay in rent?
I want to see it by a show of hands.
How many people hear rent?
Look at that.
That's amazing.
That's like most people.
Does anybody want to say how much they pay in rent?
Anybody pay the least?
Anybody want to brag about their situation?
It was for $1,200.
And you live in New York City?
On the Upper East Side.
Is that Monica from Friends with the rent control department?
There's a housing crisis in America, and New York City is no exception.
In response, New York City is implementing a rent freeze next month.
That means that for about a year,
it will be illegal for many landlords in the city to raise the rent on their tenants.
But rent freezes are very controversial.
Some economists think a rent freeze is a good tool to address a broken housing market,